Costa Express Expands Certification Portfolio

Costa Express has held certification to ISO 14001 for Environmental Management since 2016 with UKAS accredited certification body NQA; and took the decision in 2017 to expand its commitment to best practice with certification to ISO 9001 for Quality Management.
 
Teams across the business have worked closely with experienced consultant Simply Sustainable and the in-house quality team to establish and implement an integrated management system that covers requirements for quality, environment and health and safety.
 
All staff have been involved in reviewing and updating processes to identify key risks and opportunities for improvement and ensure that these are managed in the most effective way. This has been further supported with the establishment of an internal auditor’s team; who have looked at each of the Costa Express core processes in detail and worked with internal teams and managers to highlight areas where efficiencies and improvement can be achieved.
 
One of the key features of the ISO standards is the focus on building understanding of what customers and other interested parties need and expect, and of course this has always been at the heart of our operations. We know that environmental concerns are really important to our customers and have been working hard with our suppliers and partner organisations to develop our activities and ways of working to reduce negative impacts on the environment and build on positive activities. Successes here have included driver behaviours, engineer route planning and changes to vehicle storage racking which have resulted in significant reductions in our environmental impact while also improving efficiencies and service.
 
Costa Express have a varied and talented work force, who have supported and engaged with the project to integrate quality management into the core of the business, and this was reflected in the findings and comments of the certification audit which was completed in June 2018 by NQA, a global accredited certification body.
 
They assessed our systems and processes to ensure that they met the stringent requirements of the standards, and made the following observation; ‘Overall the level of implementation and adherence to the systems in place, along with the innovation and team work evident throughout the organization is exemplary, the management systems show a very sophisticated company and the audit team are confident in recommending Costa Express for certification to ISO 9001’.
 
NQA’s Managing Director, Nick Wright also highlights “Costa Express has shown undeniable commitment to their management systems, demonstrating real leadership in their industry. Costa Express stakeholders can be confident in their commitment to protect and improve any impact on the environment. As well as continue to put the needs of their customers at the forefront of their business strategy. The wider Costa Express team should be proud of their involvement and continue to encourage the growth and success of their certification portfolio.”

We know that everyone at Costa Express cares deeply about the work we do, our product, and the environment in which we operate, but it’s great to have that recognised and documented by someone else too!
 
ENDS
 

Costa Express
 
Founded in London by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa in 1971, Costa Coffee operates over 2,380 coffee shops in the UK and more than 1,300 in 31 international markets we are the fastest growing coffee shop business in the UK and are proud to be the UK’s favourite coffee shop, having been awarded “Best Branded Coffee Shop Chain in the UK and Ireland" by Allegra Strategies for eight years running (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 & 2017).

In 2011 Costa Coffee purchased Coffee Nation rebranding it to Costa Express.  Today, Costa Express operates over 8,500 coffee bars in 10 international markets and proudly serves the same famous Mocha Italia blend found in stores, combined with fresh milk to create a fantastic cup of coffee on the go.

Looking after coffee growers is extremely important to us, which is why we established The Costa Foundation, a registered charity with the aim to relieve poverty, advance education and the health and environment of coffee-growing communities around the world. So far, The Costa Foundation has funded the building of 75 schools and improved the social and economic welfare of coffee-growing communities.

For further information please contact Costa.PR@whitbread.com or www.costa.co.uk

Simply Sustainable
 
Simply Sustainable is an award-winning corporate responsibility and sustainability consultancy founded in 2010. Our outstanding multi-disciplinary team brings a specially tailored mix of skills and perspectives to each project. We work with businesses of all shapes and sizes, to offer intelligent, expert advice on all aspects of sustainability – from clear, creative strategies which embrace the latest thinking to targeted communications, and everything in between.
 
We are very proud of our growing reputation for excellence and our portfolio of national and international clients. With more than 20 years of in-house experience between us, we understand the challenges of taking your business to the next level. Wherever you are on your sustainability journey, choose us to guide you and you’ll find our approach is supportive, firmly rooted in the realities of your business, and able to offer your people an inspiring and practical plan for the future.
 
For further information please contact: info@simply-sustainable.co.uk or +44 (0)208 088 9009 or www.simply-sustainable.co.uk.